art

We are proud to announce that Annalee Roustio is the winner of the 2nd Annual MU Undergraduate LED Writing competition!

Annalee is in her third year at MU, where she studies English and plans to declare a second major in French. She’s a tutor and outreach representative for the campus Writing Center, a copywriter at Marketing by Emma, and an intern for the poetry division of Persea Books. In terms of future plans, beyond traveling to AWP this spring with Persea Books and hopefully studying abroad this summer, Annalee has begun exploring MFA programs. She should probably complete her personal website. Until then, feel free to add her on LinkedIn; her brief (and with luck, ever-growing!) smattering of publications and prizes can be found there. Special thanks to Rebecca Pelky for her helpful feedback and encouragement.

When we aren’t uploading literature to LED displays, you can find us making artists’ books. In fact, this contrast was part of the initial inspiration behind Literature Emitting Diodes. We were curious about how directly a work could be presented to the public, given the amount of work that can go into the production of an experimental publication. In fact, that term “publication” may be inappropriate since none of that work actually guarantees that the work will make it to the public – hence our interest in the direct appeal of the LED display.

Yet, in all this time, we never tried to marry the two interests. That’s why we were excited to see that the wonderfully talented book artist, Susan Lowdermilk, is doing just that — and teaching other people how to do it, too! Check out her upcoming workshop at the Oregon College of Art and Craft to see more. It’s called Shadow and Light: The LED Pop-Up Artist’s Book. The workshop runs from Friday, February 24 to Sunday, February 26. There are still spots available and you can register using the link above.

We can’t wait to see what everyone makes! No doubt this will continue to be a rich area for exploration in book arts. There is certainly a rich overlap in mindset and skillset that makes bookbinding and circuitry a perfect pair. We’re grateful that artists like Lowdermilk and organizations like OCAC so forcefully demonstrate the evolving relevance of craft in the 21st Century.

Literature Emitting Diodes is about reclaiming a medium of communication. Our point of departure was advertising, but there is another prominent use of LED signage, one that aims to modify viewers’ behavior even more directly than advertising: road signage. This type of direct, imperative language is ripe for appropriation, as seen in this recent case of hacktivism in Chicago. The Chicago Sun Times article below also cites previous actions along the same lines.

We want to share a very cool project that shares a kindred spirit with LED. Furthermore, we heard about this project because it was one of the works featured in this year’s recent Art in Odd Places in NYC, which is also very much up our alley. From October 6-9, AiOP activated 14th St. with installations, performances, and all sorts of projects centered on this year’s theme: Race.

Race is also the title of the piece we’re posting about, by artist Lee Nutbean. Nutbean’s piece is an LED display that spells the word “race” and, like LED, travels to different storefronts throughout the area. Nutbean’s twist is that the sign is connected to social media, and only turns off when online mentions of the word race cease. You can read more about it here. The simple, powerful sign is evocative whether or not a viewers knows about its clever online connection. It shifts between verb and noun, playing into and off of its surroundings, interpreted differently by each viewer passing by.

We hope you look into AiOP and enjoy their mission as much as we do. It’s well worth getting acquainted with the participating artists. We’re newly inspired to continue with LED in the future, though we’re not yet sure what form it will take next. As their curators state, their work “requires openness to chance and vulnerability amid chaos” and that is exactly what has made working on LED so meaningful and enjoyable.

We are pleased to announce that our next installation, Lampyridae by Kelsey Hoff, will be at Hyde Park Records, at 1377 E. 53rd St.! We’ll be setting up Monday, May 2nd, so make sure to check it out throughout the month.

Hyde Park Records is open from 11-8 every day, so if you’re into music (and books) you should stop by during business hours. As always, you’ll be able to read our display 24/7.